Finance Act, 1967

PART IV

Corporation Profits Tax

Relief in cases of error or mistake.

21.—(1) If any company which has paid tax charged under an assessment to corporation profits tax for any accounting period alleges that the assessment was excessive by reason of some error or mistake in a return or statement made by it for the purposes of the assessment, it may, not later than six years after the making of the assessment, make an application in writing to the Revenue Commissioners for relief.

(2) On receiving any such application the Revenue Commissioners shall inquire into the matter and shall, subject to the provisions of this section, give by way of repayment such relief in respect of the error or mistake as is reasonable and just:

Provided that no relief shall be given under this section in respect of an error or mistake as to the basis on which the liability of the applicant company ought to have been computed where the return or statement was in fact made on the basis or in accordance with the practice generally prevailing at the time when the return or statement was made.

(3) In determining any application under this section the Revenue Commissioners shall have regard to all the relevant circumstances of the case, and in particular shall consider whether the granting of relief would result in the exclusion from charge to corporation profits tax of any part of the profits of the applicant company, and for this purpose the Commissioners may take into consideration the liability of the applicant company and assessments made on it in respect of other accounting periods.

(4) Any company which is aggrieved by the determination of the Revenue Commissioners on an application made by it under this section may, on giving notice in writing to those Commissioners within twenty-one days after the notification to it of their determination, appeal to the Special Commissioners.

(5) The Special Commissioners shall thereupon hear and determine the appeal in accordance with the principles to be followed by the Revenue Commissioners in determining the applications under this section, and subject thereto, in like manner as in the case of an appeal to them against an assessment to corporation profits tax, and the provisions relating to such an appeal (including the provisions relating to the rehearing of an appeal and to the statement of a case for the opinion of the High Court on a point of law) shall apply accordingly with any necessary modifications:

Provided that neither the appellant nor the Revenue Commissioners shall be entitled to require a case to be stated for the opinion of the High Court otherwise than on a point of law arising in connection with the computation of profits.